Butterbur is an herb that has been proven to benefit migraine headache sufferers naturally, without side effects.

All about butterbur

Native to Europe, south western Asia, and north Africa, the leaf and root extracts of butterbur contain a compound named petasin which has been used throughout history to maintain the body’s natural defenses, promote a healthy response to inflammation, alleviate common aches and pain, enhance muscular functioning, and sustain bronchial health.

In numerous studies on migraines and natural supplements, daily supplementation with butterbur  has provided significantly more dramatic results for migraine patients than a placebo, resulting in neurological and cognitive health benefits.

What’s in butterbur?

Some speculation exists a to how exactly butterbur works, but the general consensus has lead to a belief that petasin in butterbur is responsible for the neurological benefits in migraine patients. Petasin, one of the herb’s main compounds, impacts migraines by sustaining your body’s healthy response to inflammation. Butterbur has been shown to benefit people with chronic, debilitating migraines that occur more than 15 times per month.

What about feverfew?

Feverfew is also considered a beneficial botanical ingredient for migraine sufferers. Modern science speculates that feverfew interacts with serotonin in a way that helps to maintain already healthy blood pressure, thus benefiting migraine patients.

The active ingredient of feverfew is parthenolide– a powerful ingredient thought to provide antioxidant protection, inhibit platelet aggregation, and promote a healthy response to inflammation. However, scientists have noted an inconsistency in the  beneficial results of feverfew in relation to migraine patients, so it is less commonly recommended than butterbur, which has shown to be much more steadily effective in promoting neurological health in migraineurs.

For that reason, migraine specialists recommend butterbur as an alternative to feverfew for maximum results.

A word about toxins

If you wish to sample the effects of butterbur you should contact your health provider to assure that it will not interfere with any medications you may be taking or your health. The raw butterbur plants also happens to contain excessive toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) that can cause liver damage over an extended period of time. During laboratory creation of the butterbur extracts, this toxic compound is removed and the medicine is considered safe for use.

When purchasing natural ingredients for migraines, look for products containing butterbur that are labeled “PA-free.”

Research on butterbur and migraines

Following is a study conducted which report the effectiveness of butterbur in comparison to a placebo. Natural migraine products which contains butterbur, such as in Migravent, are considered to be the most effective.

Grossman W, Schmidramsl H.
An extract of Petasites hybridus is effective in the prophylaxis of migraine. Sixty patients with migraine received either butterbur extract or placebo 50 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. Results were significant in favor of butterbur extracts. Butterbur was well tolerated with no adverse effects.